Comb rack



Feb. 25, 1958 w. SCONKLIN ET AL 2,824,650

,COMB RACK Filed Nov. 2, 1954 INVENTORS WILLIAM S. CONKLIN WILLIAMYH BROWN BY rv awcioryd AT TYS.

United States Patent COMB RACK William S. Conklin, Philadelphia, and William H. Brown, Lansdowne, Pa.

Application November 2, 1954, Serial No. 466,334

3 Claims. (Cl. 211-13) The present invention relates to a device for storing a plurality of combs.

Ordinarily, people store their combs by putting them loose in cabinets or on top of bureaus. Stored in this manner, combs frequently become lost and accumulate substantial amounts of lint and other foreign material between the teeth. Devices have been proposed which receive combs in pockets, but these are unsuccessful since dirt accumulates in the pocket and clogs the teeth of the comb. Still other devices are in use which comprise a plurality of strands which pass between the teeth of the comb and hold the comb in engagement by frictional engagement with the teeth. After prolonged use, the teeth of the comb are substantially weakened, and are likely to break.

The present invention contemplates a comb rack which stores the combs in properly spaced relation on strands which pass between the teeth, but does not retain the combs by frictional engagement and does not allow the combs to become inadvertently dislodged from the rack.

The rack of the present invention is of simple and economical construction and is fully effective in operation and use.

These and other objects of the present invention are more fully set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a comb rack which is supplied with a series of combs;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view similar to Fig. 1 showing the rack empty; and,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, the comb rack comprises a base having a desirable ornamental appearance. In the present instance, the base is in the shape of a lyre consisting of a U-shaped member 11 and a plurality of ornamental strings or other strands 12. Means is provided at 13, 13 for supporting the base on a wall or other suitable upright member.

In accordance with the invention, the base 10 mounts a pair of spaced strands 15, 15, for example by means of posts 16, 16 and 17, 17 respectively. The posts 16 are shorter in length than the posts 17 so that each strand diverges downwardly and outwardly from the base. In the present instance, the strands 15, 15 also diverge downwardly and outwardly from one another to accommodate combs of different length.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the strands 15 are smaller in cross section than the normal spacing between the teeth of the combs. Thus, the combs are free to slide on the strands without exerting undue stresses on the teeth. It should be noted that in prior devices where the supporting strands are of greater thickness than the spacing between the teeth, the strands exert a lateral stress on the teeth which causes them to break or become distorted after the rack is used for a period of time.

To prevent the combs from sliding on the strands 15, 15, each strand is provided with a plurality of correspondingly spaced stops 20. In the present instance, the stops comprise rhinestones which are threaded on the strand and held in proper spacing by frictional engagement with the strand, although it is within the scope of the invention to utilize other ornamental stop members secured to the strand in any desired manner.

Referring to Fig. 3, it is shown that the angular diverging relation of each strand with respect to the base retains the combs in proper position on the rack. With the combs loosely engaged on the strands 15, 15, the tips of the teeth of the combs bear against the base member 10. The weight of the comb causes it to bottom against the strand 15, and the engagement of the tips of the teeth with the base 10 prevents clockwise rotation of the comb (as seen in Fig. 3) and dislodging thereof. Thus, the base may be held upright without danger of inadvertent disengagement of the combs from the strands. Thus, the strands 15 and the stop members 20 provide vertical support for the combs, and the base member 10 provides lateral support against rotation of the comb about the stop members 20.

It has been found desirable to dispose the strands 15 in outwardly diverging relation to the base 10 in order that a rack may accommodate combs of different size. If it is expected that combs of only one size are to be stored on the rack, the strands may be disposed parallel with the base member.

From the foregoing description, it is seen that the present invention provides a novel comb rack which is highly susceptible to changes in ornamental design to correspond with the fashion trends of the times. The construction embodied in the present invention insures that the ornamental features of the rack are not impaired by the structural supporting strands, and in fact, the supporting strands enhance the ornamental beauty of the device.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has been herein illustrated and described, it is not intended to limit the invention to such disclosure, but changes and modifications may be made therein and thereto within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A rack for supporting combs and like articles having an elongated body and a series of spaced teeth depending therefrom comprising an upright base member, at least two spaced apart substantially upright strands mounted on said base member operable to engage and laterally support the body between the teeth, said strands having a cross-sectional dimension less than the normal spacing of the teeth, and stop members positioned at correspondingly spaced intervals on each of said strands to receive and vertically support the body, said strands being spaced outwardly of said base member a distance less than the length of the teeth to afford engagement of the tips of the teeth against the base member.

2. A rack according to claim 1 wherein each of said strands diverges downwardly and outwardly from said base member to provide a greater distance between said strand and said base adjacent the lower portion of the strand than adjacent the upper portion thereof.

3. A device according to claim 1 wherein said strands diverge downwardly and outwardly from one another to provide a greater spacing therebetween adjacent the bottom of the strands than adjacent the top thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

